Samsung accounts for 25% smartphones shipped in 2014, a decline from over 30% posted in 2013

Hampshire, UK – 29th January 2015: Leading mobile analyst firm Juniper Research estimates that the number of smartphone shipments exceeded 375m in Q4 2014, with an annual total of over 1.2 billion smartphones shipped for 2014, representing a 29% y-o-y growth.

Samsung shipped an estimated 315m smartphones in 2014 accounting for 25% of all smartphone shipments, however the company reported its first annual earnings decline in 3 years. The company witnessed another quarterly fall in shipments and market share, to just over 76m in Q4 2014, representing a 3% decline.

Apple breaks iPhone Sales Record

Meanwhile, Apple posted a record quarter of 74.5m iPhone sales, representing q-o-q growth of 90% and y-o-y growth of 46% compared to Q4 2013. With the demand for iPhones driven by the 6 and 6 Plus models, the company for the first time ever, sold more iPhones in China than in the US. Despite closing in on Samsung in Q4, Apple had a market share of 15% for the full year in 2014.

Juniper Research notes notes that the reception of the iPhone 6 Plus has indicated a large potential for Apple phablets and is expected to further accelerate the ‘Bigger Screen’ trend. However, potential releases from budget vendors could outpace their expansion and reduce Apple’s overall market share in the category over time. Juniper estimates Apple to account for 30% of the Phablets (5.5”-6.9” screen) market in 2015.

Lumia Sales Up, Lenovo Takes Third

Lenovo-Motorola combined is estimated to have shipped over 90m smartphones in 2014, managing to improve its market share to just over 7%.